Michael Westen Stories
by Mashup
Summary: <html><head></head>Everyone knows that you're not supposed to tell Michael Westen stories, right? So under what circumstances would Michael be forced to tell a Michael Westen story... to Charlie? Chapter 7: Sam Ax gets a surprise call from an old friend.</html>
1. Chapter 1

This would have made a good Michael Westen story, if people were allowed to tell Michael Westen stories. ~Jason Bly (Burn Notice Season 2).

Spoliers: contains spoilers for the series Finale.

A/N: This story has Michael and Fiona settling in a different location than the traditionally accepted Northern Ireland. But seeing as they only show the cottage and they don't actually say that it's Ireland, I've decided to exercise creative licence with where I see them ending up.

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><p>When they settled together in New Zealand with Charlie, Michael and Fiona both agreed that they would sever all ties with the past. Michael could not stay in America because the CIA would have something to say about that and Fiona could not stay in Ireland because the IRA and MI6 would have something to say about that. In the end, they settled on a neutral country that was as far removed from where they came from as they could find. Here they raised Charlie - as a Kiwi. It was a much appreciated break. Michael didn't have a hundred enemies trying to kill him and Fiona did not have to deal with the injustices that she had seen in Ireland and in Miami. New Zealanders, for the most part, were quite reasonable with one another.<p>

And in keeping with the theme of a clean break. Michael took a job as a cook in a local takeaway shop while Fiona became a florist. They tried to stay as far from violence and intelligence as they could.

Michael was used to intelligence gathering from trained operatives. If someone was trying to gather intelligence off him who was not an operative, he could usually see right through them. But he didn't expect intelligence gathering - from a twelve year old child.

Charlie had become close to a boy called Finlay. Fiona thought it was hilarious because it sounds like Finley, the name that Sam always uses for his covers. Michael did not. Aside from the unfortunate name though, the child was a good kid and he was actually a positive influence on Charlie. Being like Nate but without a big brother, Charlie needed a peer with whom he could bond and look up to. Like Michael, the child was very inquisitive.

"How come you don't have any photos in your house?" Finley asked Charlie.

"Uncle Mike doesn't like photos," Charlie replied.

"How come you guys don't hug when he comes to pick you up from school?" Finlay continued his line of questioning.

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked, taken aback.

"Most parents will go up to the child when they collect them and kiss them or hug them. They do it for show because they know that other parents are watching them. Your uncle doesn't do that. He just stays where he is and he looks at you like he's watching you." Finlay explained.

Charlie hadn't really noticed that. Michael had always been the one to collect him from school and Fiona had always been the one to drop him off. They always behaved as only Fi and Mike could but Charlie never noticed any different because he didn't have anything to compare it with.

"When their child hasn't come out yet, most parents are either gossiping with other parents or playing on their mobile phones but your uncle doesn't do that. He's always looking around him like he's trying to find something or he's watching the other parents but he never joins them." Finlay continued his observations.

"What are you trying to say?" Charlie asked, frowning.

"He's different." Finlay stated simply.

Although Michael couldn't hear the full conversation, he could tell from Charlie's posture that something was worrying his nephew so he approached them casually. Well casually for Michael Westen was still different to everyone else.

"What are you two jabbering about?" He asked them.

"See what I mean?" said Finlay.

"What's Uncle Mike doing different this time?" Charlie sighed.

"He sneaked up on us," said Finlay.

"What are you guys talking about?" Michael's expression was guarded.

"Finlay thinks you're different," said Charlie, looking depressed.

"Different, how?" asked Michael.

"You sneaked up on us," Finlay noted. "Like you actually did. My mum always tries to sneak up on me but she always makes some kind of noise. You were actually completely silent. That's different."

Michael frowned to hide his astonishment at the child's observation skills.

"I'm wearing slippers. I couldn't be noisy even if I tried." He said.

"How come you don't have any photos in your house?" Finley continued to question his friend's uncle. "Every other house I've been to has photos everywhere."

"These days it's all online now isn't it?" Michael asked with surprise. Unless he was much mistaken, Facebook was now the default photo album for most modern parents.

"But you don't have any trophies or certificates either," Finlay observed. "My mum has her medical degree framed and put on the mantlepiece. You guys don't put anything out. It's like you don't have a history."

Michael smiled broadly like he always does when he's trying to think of a way out of a situation. He just hadn't expected there to be a situation with a twelve year old.

"You're asking a lot of questions today, Finlay." he said.

"But you can see that it looks bad right?" said Finlay.

"Excuse me?" Michael raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah excuse us," said Charlie. "What are you suggesting?"

"I'm not," Finlay replied, taken aback. "I'm just saying that it looks bad."

"Okay, what does it look like?" Michael asked.

"You don't want anyone to know who you are and where you come from. When you're with Charlie, you look like you're terrified that someone will take him away from you." Finlay observed.

"And?" Michael prompted.

"Well there are only certain people who act like that. A fugitive might act like that." Finlay suggested.

"But you don't think that we're fugitives." Michael guessed.

"No I don't." Finlay agreed. "It's just that you hear stories in the media."

"What stories?" asked Charlie, bewildered.

"Say that a couple really wants to have children but every agency they've applied with won't let them adopt. So they kidnap someone else's child. Then they skip town and raise the child as their own. They sever all contact with their past and they're paranoid that something will happen to that child."

This was such a freakishly accurate observation that Michael had to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Fiona asked as she came into the kitchen where the boys were gathered.

"Finlay here, thinks that we kidnapped Charlie & ran off with him," Michael replied, still chuckling.

"Who told you?" Fiona asked with a guilty expression on her face.

"Don't do that. He'll take you seriously." Michael advised.

"How come you're still laughing?" Charlie asked, still confused.

"You're right Finlay. Fiona and I did skip town as you call it. And we did sever all contact with our past. But it's not because we kidnapped my nephew." Michael shook his head.

"So he really is your nephew," said Finlay.

"Yes. He really is." Michael smiled.

"See? I told you he doesn't look as much like Nate as you keep saying." Fiona interjected.

"You didn't know Nate when he was twelve," Michael countered.

"Finlay, you know that my dad is Michael's brother. I can't believe you didn't believe me." said Charlie.

"Well, like I said. Your uncle and your aunt are a bit different." Finlay shrugged, "It got me thinking."

"What do you mean we're a bit different?" Fiona asked with suspicion.

"I'll explain later," said Michael. Then he turned to his nephew's best friend. "Finlay, you're right about us being maybe a bit overprotective of Charlie. But it's not because we kidnapped him or that we're fugitives."

"But you are different," said Finlay.

"Why does he keep saying that?" Fiona asked, annoyed.

"He's trying to ask me a question without actually asking a question," said Michael. "He's a very proactive kid."

"Thanks." Finlay smiled.

"Intelligent and arrogant," Fiona noted. "Remind you of somebody?"

"The reason that Fi and I are so protective of Charlie is because we've had people in the past who would very much like to hurt us. We don't want them to hurt Charlie so we like to keep an eye out. Just in case." Michael explained.

"What kinds of people?" Asked Finlay.

"I don't think you really want to get into that," Michael replied quickly.

"So they're bad guys." Finlay deduced.

"Well they're not good people." Fiona agreed.

"How come you have bad guys chasing after you? Were you a cop?" Finlay turned to Michael.

Once again, Michael found himself biting his tongue so as not to laugh at Finlay's quick and logical mind. If he inclined toward intelligence as a career, he would make a hell of an operative for the New Zealand SIS.

"No. I wasn't a cop." Michael shook his head.

"So what did you do?" Finlay continued his line of questioning.

"I was self-employed." Michael smiled.

"Whatever you did. You should keep doing it." Finlay advised.

"Why do you say that?" Asked Fiona.

"Because you can." He replied simply.

The kid was happy to talk in riddles and he knew when to stop pushing. He had all the right instincts to be a spy if he wanted.

Michael knew that although Finlay's questions were finishing or at least put on hold for now, Charlie's questions were just beginning. For the most part, Charlie had just accepted things for how they were but now that Finlay had drawn his attention to some of the things that he didn't question, the floodgates would be sure to open. While Michael had never outright lied to Charlie, most of the time he just didn't explain. In place of a fabricated story, he had settled on just not saying anything until Charlie was older. Or at least until he got curious and wanted to know himself. It seems that his curiosity was being piqued by Finlay.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: This story was originally intended to be a oneshot but a number of reviewers have suggested that Michael's New Zealand adventures continue, so I've decided to give it a second shot. Thanks guys.

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><p>Charlie Westen was unusually quiet at dinner that night. Not that he was that much of a talker usually but he was rarely silent.<p>

One of the perks of being a cook was that you got to take some of your work home with you. The Westens almost always had leftovers from Michael's shift for dinner. Not that Fiona was a Westen – since officially, she and Michael had yet to marry but she was at heart, just as much a Westen as the boys, despite not having the name.

"Something you want to talk about, Charlie?" Fiona asked.

"Was he right?" Charlie asked, turning to Michael.

"You talking about Finlay?" Michael looked up from his pasta.

"Yes." Charlie nodded.

"If you're referring to his remark about us being different then no. We're not that different from anybody else." said Fiona.

"Come on Fi," Michael laughed. "You know that's bending the truth a bit."

"So what did you do?" asked Charlie.

Michael paused, taking a sip of his soda before continuing. "How much of your time in Miami do you remember, Charlie?"

"I remember grandma's house. I remember preschool. I remember seeing Fiona a lot and you would be away a lot. Grandma said you were at work but she didn't tell me what you did." Charlie recounted.

Even though it had been almost a decade since they left Miami, Michael would still flinch at the mention of Madeline. He never forgave himself for her death and he didn't think that he ever would.

"Yes about my job. I worked for the US government." Michael tried to explain.

"I wouldn't call it work when they were holding your friends and family to ransom." Fiona replied bitterly.

Once upon a time, Michael would have just come straight out and said that he was a spy and been proud. But that was a long time ago. If he had been reluctant to tell his family about his work when he was in Miami; here in Christchurch, he was even more reluctant to talk about his past.

But he knew that he would eventually have to explain what he did to Charlie and he promised himself that he would not try to sugar coat it. He just hoped that Charlie wouldn't hate him once he learned that all his relatives had been killed because of Michael's job, including the death of his grandfather more than twenty years earlier.

"But why were you away all the time?" Charlie asked.

Based on what he could remember of his early years, Uncle Mike would often disappear and pop up again once in a blue moon and no one ever explained why.

Michael sighed, pondering how to explain what was going on in child's speak. "Charlie, my job required that I hang out with some very bad people. To protect you guys from those people, I had to make sure that I didn't hang out with my family too much."

"Did you miss us?" asked Charlie.

"If he did he never told us," said Fiona.

"Fi, come on. That's not fair." Michael protested.

"Why did the government want you to hang out with bad people?" Charlie asked, helping himself to more lasagne.

"Because they wanted to stop them from doing bad things. My job was to work with the bad guys so that when they do something bad, I will know and I can stop them." Michael tried to explain.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Said Charlie.

"Very." Fiona agreed. "But Michael liked it."

"Oh I don't know Fi," Michael smiled. "You were pretty impartial to violence and danger yourself."

"What did you do, Fiona?" Charlie turned to his aunt.

"I helped the cops to catch bad guys," said Fiona using kid's speak for bounty hunter.

"If you helped the government and Fiona helped the police, why did we leave America?" Charlie asked in his normal accent, which was not American, but kiwi.

All three spoke with a different accent now. Fi spoke with her native Irish accent while Michael kept his American accent. Charlie spoke with a kiwi accent because that was what he was taught at school and that was how he spoke with his friends.

"Because the government and the cops aren't always good people," Michael explained. "And we had to get away from them."

"Only took you seven years to learn that," Fiona pointed out.

"Yeah okay, so it was a learning curve for me." Michael muttered.

"What were the names of your jobs?" asked Charlie. "I can't imagine you would introduce yourself as the guy that helps the government."

Michael pointed, first to Fiona then to himself. "Bounty hunter, spy."

"Spy? Like James Bond?" Charlie asked, his lips twitching as he was trying not to laugh. Not because the idea of spies was particularly hilarious but because of the way that Michael had been trying to avoid talking about it.

"No, more like Jason Bourne," said Michael. "But you get the idea."

"What's a bounty hunter?" asked Charlie.

"They catch fugitives and bail jumpers for reward money." Fiona explained.

"Wow. That's really different." Charlie smiled.

"Not you too." Michael groaned. He'd had enough of Finlay calling them different earlier in the day.

"Your jobs are so ordinary now, compared with what you did before." Charlie observed.

"Charlie, Fiona and I wanted that. If we wanted to be different, as you and Finlay like to remind us, we would have stayed in Miami." said Michael.

"It was a good thing that you left." Charlie smiled. "I like it here in New Zealand."

As a spy, Michael should have known better than to let his guard down but relief can do that to you. Charlie had taken the truth a lot better than Michael had anticipated. So of course the police would choose this moment to ring them.

Fiona answered the phone. She gave a puzzled look before turning to her adopted son.

"Charlie, did you contact the police?" She asked.

"No I didn't. Finlay did." Charlie replied.

"Fi, give me the phone." Michael held out his hand.

"Is that Mr Westen?" Said the voice on the line.

"Who's asking?" Michael replied.

"This is Constable Stephen Te Wera from the Papanui Police Station. Five days ago your boy, Charlie, reported a missing persons case." The constable explained.

"He didn't tell me about it." Michael glanced at his nephew.

"The reported missing person, Anne Richards, has been found." The constable informed Michael.

Ms Richards was a teacher at Charlie's school. Michael was aware that she hadn't been showing up to work the whole week but he didn't know that Finlay had apparently filed a missing persons report in Charlie's name.

"That's great news," Michael smiled at the teacher's sighting.

"She's dead," said the constable. "We need Charlie to come in and identity the body for us."

"I can do that. She was his teacher. I knew her quite well." Michael was not keen on Charlie having to see a dead body up close, especially not when it was someone he knew.

"Yes please do come with him, Sir. But we still need to speak with the boy because he was the one who originally reported the case." Said Constable Te Wera.

Michael considered his options. Finlay knew something that he was not telling. He was scared of the consequences of that something and so committed a felony by lying about his identity to the police. Michael having been implicated in said felony could not walk away from the case. He liked it much better when people who needed help from him came to him directly and did not involve the police.


	3. Chapter 3

Michael got off the phone, with a dilemma that he hadn't faced in a long time and had hoped he would never have to face again: involving his family on what was fast becoming a job and trying to work out how much he should tell them.

"What do the police want?" Fiona asked as soon as he got hung up.

"Am I in trouble?" Asked Charlie.

"No, you're not in trouble." Michael replied, thinking fast. "Charlie, I need you to call Finlay's house and tell them that you need to speak with Finlay."

"Okay, what am I speaking to him about?" Charlie asked.

"I'll be speaking to Finlay once you get him on the phone." Michael replied, handing Charlie his handset.

"What is going on?" Fiona asked as Charlie waited for someone to answer the phone.

"I'll know more after I speak with Finlay." Michael replied.

"Hello. Ms Weiss, can I speak with Finlay?" Charlie asked. Then he turned to Michael. "She's gone to get him."

"I'll take it from here," said Michael as he took the phone off Charlie.

"Hello?" said Finlay.

"Finlay, this is Michael. I need you to pretend that you're talking to Charlie so your mom doesn't know. Can you do that?" asked Michael.

"Sure Charlie. No problems." Finlay replied cheerfully.

Michael frowned. It should not have been so easy for the child to lie.

"Okay, a couple of days ago, you reported Ms Richards missing to the police." said Michael.

"They called you?" Finlay asked, excited.

"Yes they did," Michael replied.

"They found her?"

"Yes."

It wasn't a complete lie. The police had answered Michael in the same way.

"Now, I need to know why you called them when you did." said Michael.

"Oh yeah, sorry about that. My mum would kill me if the cops called her. So er… yeah, sorry I didn't tell you about it sooner." Finlay tried to explain.

"No that's not what I'm asking. How did you know to call missing persons?" said Michael.

"You normally call twenty four hours after you don't see someone so I called a day after Ms Richards didn't come to school." Finlay explained.

"You timed it Finlay," Michael accused. "You waited for a day and you didn't tell anyone. Not your mom. Not even the school principal. You went straight to the police."

"But she's been found right." Finlay replied. "Is she okay?"

As an adult, your first instinct is to protect the child no matter the consequences. But Finlay was not behaving like a child. In fact, if it had been any other twelve year old, Michael would not have released the truth.

"She's gone," Michael replied, knowing that Finley would understand what gone meant.

The boy did not immediately answer and the line was silent for a moment.

"Finlay, you knew that something was wrong before anybody else did. I need to know what happened. How did you know that something was wrong?" Michael asked.

"What's going on?" Charlie asked, becoming worried about the turn in the conversation.

Michael did not answer him directly.

"Fi, could you?" He turned to Fiona.

"Charlie, let's give him some space. Michael will tell us what's going on after he finishes the call." Fiona said as she led Charlie out of the kitchen.

"It started about a month ago," said Finlay. His voice had gone deeper and it sounded like he was trying to hide the fact that he was he was crying.

"Finlay, I know this is difficult. But I need to know what happened." Michael tried to encourage him to open up.

"Finlay you alright in there?" Ms Weiss's voice could be heard in the background, along with a loud knock. Presumably, Finlay was hiding in his room.

"Yes, I'm okay mum. Just helping Charlie with his homework." Finlay shouted back.

Michael smiled. The kid was a natural.

"Now, what happened a month ago?" Michael prompted.

"You're gonna laugh." said Finlay.

"I promise I won't laugh," Michael replied.

"Our classes became too much fun," said Finlay. "Not that Ms Richards is normally a boring teacher but it was just like she was too cheerful and she had too much energy."

It was interesting to see that this was what separated Finlay from his peers. While most children can usually tell when their teacher is putting on an act, few children question why.

"And you never told anyone else about this?" Asked Michael.

"I didn't think anyone would take me seriously. I mean you don't normally complain about someone for being too happy." Finlay replied.

"What else happened in the month leading up to now?" Michael asked.

"She just got more and more cheerful. And she was on playground duty a lot. Like all the time. I think normally the teachers take turns." said Finlay.

"She must have been swapping shifts with the other teachers." Michael replied.

Finlay became quiet again.

"You still there?" Michael asked.

"Yes," said Finlay.

"Finlay, you did the right thing." said Michael. "I will find out what happened to Ms Richards but I'm going to need your help."

"What do you want me to do?" Finlay asked.

"I need you to come with me to the police station." Michael instructed. "I know you reported it under Charlie's name but he doesn't know what happened. You do. I need you to tell the cops what you just told me."

"But my mum doesn't know about this." Finlay protested.

"You told her that you were helping Charlie with his homework, right?" said Michael, checking.

"Yes, but how do I explain why I need to get out of the house?" Finley asked.

"Tell her that Charlie invited you to our place for a sleep over because it's easier to do homework together face to face. I'm going to come pick you up in about half an hour."

As a responsible adult, Michael should have known better than to encourage a child to lie to his family. But given Michael's own history... perhaps he and Finlay were more alike than he wanted to acknowledge.

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><p>"Michael Westen, I cannot believe this." Fiona yelled angrily.<p>

Although the situation wasn't funny, Charlie did find seeing Fiona berating Michael to be hilarious and he couldn't help but laugh.

"You're actually encouraging a child to lie to the police." Fiona continued, furious.

"I didn't start that lie, he did." Michael replied.

"And you're continuing it." Fiona said, raising her voice again.

"If the police find out that Finlay is not who he says he is, they will want to speak to Charlie. And Charlie doesn't know anything about it. No point in traumatising him."

This was Michael's protective side - the one that almost got him killed too many times to count. Fiona hadn't seen this side of Michael in a while now. Aside from genuine concern for Finlay, Fiona was more worried about how far Michael was willing to take this.


	4. Chapter 4

Jessica Weiss waited patiently with her son for Charlie's uncle to come pick Finlay up. She knew that Charlie was a good kid but she wasn't sure what to make of Michael yet. Finlay was a fiercely independent child and he chose his friends very carefully. He didn't just randomly bump into you and call you a friend. If you became his friend, it was because he wanted you to.

He had somehow latched onto Charlie when they both entered grade six. Though he got along with just about everyone, he rarely got close to anyone, and Jessica was keen to see their friendship continue.

"Hello Charlie," she said as she opened the front door, "Finlay says that you wanted to go over some maths problems with him."

"Er yeah. Uncle Mike can speak about five different languages but he's hopeless with fractions." Charlie flexed his improvisational skills as a Westen.

Jessica smiled. She knew that Charlie didn't suddenly get the urge to do his maths homework with Finlay as her son had claimed. She wasn't an idiot. But she could see why the two of them got along. Charlie was just as fast on his feet as Finlay was. It was just that Finlay was more proactive.

"He's inside," she told Charlie.

"Thanks for letting me borrow him, Ms Weiss." Said Michael.

"Call me Jess. Ms Weiss makes me sound ancient." said Jessica.

"I'll remember that." Michael smiled.

"Would you like to come inside?" Jessica asked.

Michael was careful not to let anything show on his face. While doing homework wasn't exactly urgent, assisting homicide investigations was more time sensitive. But he couldn't look like he needed to be somewhere else.

"Sure thing." He said and joined Jessica, heading into the kitchen with her.

"Finlay's told me a lot about you," said Jessica as she poured water into two glasses. "I've never seen him so enamoured by an adult before."

"Trust me. I've been pretty enamoured by him as well. He's one of a kind." said Michael as Jessica handed him a glass.

"No that's not what I mean," Jessica shook her head. "As a general rule, Finlay doesn't trust people. Especially adult males. But he trusts you. I want to know a bit more about you since he's going to want to spend more time with you."

Michael found himself being taken aback. Finlay's resemblance to Michael was now complete. On top of being a good reader of people and a natural liar, Finlay also shared Michael's childhood distrust of adults, especially men.

"What do you want to know about me?" Michael asked.

"I want to know why my son thinks you're different." said Jessica.

"I guess 'cause I'm American. I don't know." Michael shrugged in reply and did his best to look nonchalant.

"Don't get me wrong. I'm not trying to pry. I just need to know: Are you dangerous?" asked Jessica.

Michael wasn't sure why but he felt that he needed to gain Jessica's trust. Though he was more than capable of playing verbal dodge ball all night long, Jessica had shown him something that parents don't often show each other when they first meet, especially when it came to protecting their child: respect.

"I'm not dangerous. But I can be if I need to be." Michael decided that even if he couldn't be a hundred percent honest with her, he would respect her and he promised himself that he wouldn't outright lie to her.

"It's just that Finlay… has a tendency to get involved." Jessica tried to explain. "He once intervened in a custody dispute by calling up child services and reporting abuse because the child was seen wearing too many clothes at school in summer."

"That was a very brave thing that he did," said Michael.

"I don't know how to explain it, but I think he's attracted to things that are dangerous and that's part of the reason why he's so drawn to you." Jessica continued. "Let's be honest, you and I both know that he's not coming over to your place to help Charlie with his maths homework. I just hope that whatever he's gotten himself involved in, you'll look out for him."

"Don't worry Jessica, I promise that I won't leave Finlay. No matter what." Michael assured her.

Through his conversation with Finlay's mother, he could see what things must have been like for Madeline when he was a child. Like Jessica, Madeline recognised that her child was attracted to danger. And she knew that sooner or later, her son was going to get himself into trouble. In both cases, the women were less concerned about what their child got involved in and more concerned with whether or not they were going to be alright by the end of it.

"What are you guys talking about?" Finlay asked as he and Charlie came back out from his room.

"Your mother and I were just getting to know each other." Michael smiled in reply.

"Uncle Mike, Finlay was just showing me his homemade Monopoly set." Charlie exclaimed, excited.

"You made your own set?" Michael was impressed.

"He calls it Mininopoly." Jessica laughed.

"Alright, game maker, let's go." Michael said as they headed for the front door together.

"Take care of him." Jessica called out to him.

"You have my word." Michael replied, before taking both kids and heading out the door.


	5. Chapter 5

After dropping Charlie off at home with Fiona, Michael drove up to Papanui Police Station with Finlay. Papanui is a suburb of Christchurch that the Westens now called home. It wasn't as crime heavy as what they were used to in Miami but nor was it a crime free zone. As with any city in the world, crime never sleeps. Not even in New Zealand.

It was standard procedure for field operatives to give civilians pep talks prior to interrogations (ok this was just a police interview but still). However when the civilian is a twelve year child who has only ever dealt with the authorities over the phone...

"Three things," Michael said as he stopped the car. "When we get inside, I want you to stay with me at all times."

"But what if I need to go to the toilet?" Finlay asked.

"You know what I mean," Michael shook his head.

"Just pulling your leg," Finlay smiled.

"When they question you, I want you to answer them truthfully, and try not to look at me when you're answering them." Michael continued.

"Why do I have to avoid looking at you?" Finlay asked.

"Because people are more likely to take what you tell them seriously when you appear confident. Looking to me before you answer a question doesn't make you appear confident." Michael explained.

"Okay, what's the third thing?" Finlay asked.

"Lastly, and this is the most important thing, If you can see that something's not right like if they tell us that it was a suicide and you don't agree with them, don't say anything while we're inside."

"Why?" Asked Finlay.

"Generally speaking, detectives don't like it when they're wrong," Michael explained. "And we haven't got any evidence to prove them otherwise so it's better if we just don't say anything."

"So, am I Finlay or am I Charlie?" Said Finlay.

"That depends on whether or not you want your mother to get involved." Michael replied.

"Does she know?" Finlay asked.

"She knows that something's up but she doesn't know the specifics of it." Michael replied.

"What happens if I decide to be Charlie?" Finlay asked, mining his options.

"If you come clean now and explain that you were lying to protect yourself, they'll probably give you a talking to but it won't get any more serious than that but it will end up involving both your mom and my nephew." Michael explained.

"And if I don't come clean now?" Finlay asked.

"If you do decide to be Charlie, you'll need to stay as Charlie throughout the investigation and they won't just give you a talking to if they find out."

"You sound like you're expecting the case to drag out." Finlay observed.

"Sorry. It's a bad habit that I have. I always plan for the worst case scenarios." Michael explained.

"What's the worst case scenario here?" Asked Finlay.

"The case getting dragged out is one of them." Said Michael.

"What are the other scenarios?" Finlay asked.

"Let's see what the police have to say first," Michael replied as they got out of the car.

* * *

><p>Once inside the station, they waited in line just like everybody else. Michael told the officer stationed at the front desk that they were here for Constable Te Wera before sitting down with Finlay in the waiting area.<p>

Waiting for your contact is comparable to surveillance but much less informative. This was one of the reasons why Michael preferred to work off the books. There was no bureaucracy, no competing priorities & much less waiting around.

"You don't have a phone?" Asked Finlay.

"Yeah. It's in my pocket." Michael replied.

"There's three adults in this room. One of them is reading one of the police pamphlets from wall & the other one is playing on his phone." Finlay observed.

"Your point?" Michael asked.

"You're not into the whole must look busy thing like everybody else." Finlay replied.

"I'm just tired," said Michael.

"No, if you were tired, you'd be sitting more slouched and your eyes would be half closed." Finlay observed.

"What are you saying?" Michael asked.

"Whatever you normally do when you pick up Charlie, you're doing that with me right now." Finlay replied.

Again, being accurate as always, Michael had to laugh at Finlay's remark. It had been so long since he'd last been in the field that he couldn't seriously say that he expected there to be an active threat to either himself or Finlay but it never hurt to be cautious.

"Am I annoying you?" Finlay asked.

"No. You're not annoying Finlay." Michael replied. It was actually the opposite. Spending time with Finlay was a cathartic experience for Michael.

* * *

><p>Sometime later, they were taken into an interview room to speak with Constable Stephen Te Wera.<p>

"Thanks for coming guys. I really appreciate it." Said the constable as Michael and Finlay sat down. "Now Charlie, your father has requested that you don't see the body, which I agree is a sensible thing to do."

"She's still Ms Richards." Finlay insisted.

"Of course. My apologies. That was very insensitive of me." Stephen corrected himself. "Yes, Michael doesn't want you to see your teacher so he's going to have a look at a photo while we have a quick chat."

Michael found himself being handed a folder while Stephen tried to engage Finlay with small talk. Michael appreciated that the constable didn't start questioning the child without him.

The photo was a head shot taken at autopsy. The cause of death was not visible in the photograph but it was unmistakably Ms Richards pictured in the shot.

Meanwhile, Stephen and Finlay were engaged in a conversation about _The Hobbit_ films.

"I don't know why they make such a big deal about them being filmed here. There's so much CGI in them, they could be filmed anywhere." said Finlay.

"The landscape is still recognisably Kiwi." Stephen laughed.

"And they changed it completely from the books." Finlay continued.

"Those films aren't a direct interpretation of the book. They are a continuation of _The Lord of The Rings_ films preceding them. That's what happens when you switch the filming order. You end up having to make some changes." Stephen gave his take on the films.

"Okay. I'm going to pretend that I know what you two are talking about." Michael looked up from the photo.

"You're not into fantasy?" Stephen laughed.

"Not so much." Michael shrugged.

"Your son is quite the Tolkienist." Stephen remarked.

"Kids these days. They read everything online." said Michael.

"Did you recognise her?" Stephen asked.

"Yes." Michael nodded.

"What happened to her?" Finlay asked.

"We're still looking into it," the constable replied. "That's why we need to ask you some questions."

"What do you want to know?" said Finlay.


	6. Chapter 6

Did Fiona Glenanne mention that she hated waiting around? Well she does. It's kind of ironic that had Michael gone off to see a mobster or a gang leader, she would actually have been calmer than she was now.

"What's wrong Fiona?" Charlie asked.

"They're taking their sweet time." Fiona muttered in reply.

Charlie had not seen his aunt quite so agitated before.

"That's it." Fiona announced. "We're going to visit your teacher's house."

"But she's not going to be home." Charlie replied.

"Oh, trust me. We won't need a key." She replied.

Of course having a child with you does complicate break-ins but this child was a Westen after all. Shouldn't be too much trouble.

* * *

><p>"Why are we going to Ms Richards house? And how do you even know where Ms Richards lives?" Charlie asked in the car.<p>

It was almost midnight so there was nothing stopping Fiona from driving like a maniac.

"Your friend Finlay has involved Michael in a case that he knows nothing about. The police will have a lot of questions for him, we'd better find some answers for him to give." Fiona replied.

"Haven't they already been through her stuff?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah but we haven't," said Fiona. "We don't know what they know and we need to start knowing something."

"Why are you so worried?" Charlie asked bewildered at the panic that was evident in Fiona's actions and in her words.

"Because Michael, never does half a job. If he takes it on, he will see it all the way to the end. And even though his skills are still lethal to ordinary citizens. He hasn't had to fight entire organisations for a while now."

"What organisations? Ms Richards wasn't killed by the mafia, was she?" Charlie asked, starting to panic himself.

"Gangs and mafias aren't the only organised groups. When we were in America, Michael took on the CIA. Everyone thinks that they're wonderful - out there saving people like what you see in action films but in reality they're just as bad as the people they're fighting. Except that they're on 'our' side. Like that matters when they can just turn around and destroy you." Fiona was talking much too fast for Charlie to follow and she was more or less lost in her own thoughts. Charlie would've asked for her to explain but he couldn't make head nor tail of what she was talking about so he didn't know where to begin his questions.

"Er... you don't like Michael getting involved with the police." Charlie guessed.

"I don't like that he's getting involved. Period." Fiona replied.

"Don't you want to know what happened to Ms Richards?" Charlie asked.

"The police will work that out. They don't need our help." Fiona replied.

"I still don't get it. What kind of help are you talking about? Uncle Mike and Finlay are just going to answer some questions." Said Charlie.

Before Fiona could answer, Charlie's phone went off.

"Hello?"

"Where is Fiona and what is she doing?" Michael asked, sounding agitated.

"She's... we're driving to er..." Charlie stammered.

Fiona took the phone off Charlie. "What?"

"If you're anywhere near Ms Richards's house. Make a u-turn and stay the hell away from there." Michael replied.

"Why?" Fiona asked in surprise.

"Because criminals are likely to return to the scene of the crime and that's just what the cops are waiting for." Said Michael.

"Wait, tell me what's going on." Fiona replied. "What did the police tell you?"

"Ms Richards adopted a daughter. We think she's still alive but she's missing." Said Michael.

"Wait, you think she's been kidnapped?" Fiona asked.

"How many kidnappers do you know kill the parent of the child they kidnapped and leave the child alive?" Said Michael.

"You sure the killer wasn't a relative? Maybe they never intended to kill the girl." Fiona suggested.

"Her daughter was an international adoption. I doubt her relatives would come to New Zealand to commit murder. If they wanted her that much, they should never have put her up for adoption." Said Michael.

"So what is it then if it's not a kidnapping?" Fiona asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Michael replied.

"Where are you anyway? Said Fiona.

"We're in the car park. My interview just finished up. Thank God, or it would have been too late to call you." Michael replied.

* * *

><p>"You did well in there." Michael said to Finlay once they got back in the car. "What did you learn from the interview?"<p>

"He seemed to be more interested in us than he was in Ms Richards. Most of the questions he asked us had almost nothing to do with Ms Richards."

"Good. I'm glad you noticed." Michael laughed.

"What did you notice?" Finlay asked.

"I don't think they found the body this morning like he said. It would have been found much earlier than that." Michael said with certainty.

"How can you tell?" Finlay asked.

"From the autopsy photo. Which I'm glad you didn't have to see it by the way." Michael replied.

"What about it?" Finlay enquired with interest.

"You sure you wanna know?" Michael hesitated.

"If you're worried about scaring me, don't bother. I've read horror stories before going to bed. They didn't affect me at all." Said Finlay.

"I guess, I've seen way too many bodies before. If she had really been found five days after her death, decomposition would have already started but in the photo there was minimal decomposition suggesting that she would have been found much earlier." Michael explained.

"Why would they wait until now to call us?" Finlay asked.

"I have no idea," Michael replied.

* * *

><p>AN: Er yeah, sorry about the extended delay between updates. And a warning, there will probably be another delay again :)


	7. Chapter 7

Sam Ax stared at the number on his phone in surprise. It had an international dial code of 64. He knew many ex-seals who had now settled internationally but not many of them had settled in New Zealand. The number on his screen was one of the few numbers that he recognised on sight because it was never stored in his phone and never written down.

When Michael and Fiona left Miami, it was agreed by all parties that they don't communicate often. Asides from the lone Christmas card that was always addressed to Chuck Finlay rather than Sam in case it fell into the wrong hands, they almost never spoke to each other. Michael had taken to calling Fiona "The Mrs" in their correspondences for the same reason.

Through Christmas card upon Christmas card, Sam came to be aware that the Westens had finally settled down and were more or less out of the spy game. Likewise over the Christmases, Michael came to be aware that Jesse Porter had not only met someone but was now married with a child to boot.

"Is this who I think it is?" Sam asked, hardly able to believe his ears.

"Nice to hear from you too, Chuck." Michael laughed.

"We don't have to go by aliases anymore Mike, this line isn't being monitored." Said Sam.

"Maybe not but my status been compromised," Michael replied.

"You sure?" Sam asked in surprise.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure. The New Zealand police know who I am now." Michael replied. While the police hadn't actually said it straight out, Michael could tell from Constable Te Wera's questions that he was aware of Michael's past

"How did they find out?" Sam asked.

"Well, none of us have actually changed our names here so it's not that hard to obtain files on us." Michael admitted.

"What?" Said Sam, incredulous. "You send me cryptic Christmas cards when you never even changed your name?"

"The cards had to be cryptic because everyone in Miami thinks I'm dead. We don't have that problem here in New Zealand. Plus I'm a civilian here so I didn't really need to live under a cover. I wanted a break from all that." Michael replied with honesty.

"So what made them dig into your past?" Sam asked.

"I got involved in a case," Michael tried to explain.

"You're taking on jobs again?" Sam shook his head with disbelief.

"It's a long story. Let's just say that a kid filed a report with the police and he put me down as his guardian." Michael explained.

"Not Charlie." Said Sam.

"No, it was Charlie's friend." Said Michael.

"What's his name?" Sam asked.

"Finlay Weiss," Michael replied without skipping a beat.

"You're kidding." Sam said upon hearing the name.

"Fiona thinks it's hilarious," Michael smiled in reply.

"Why is he involved with the police?" Sam asked.

"He filed a missing persons report for his teacher when she didn't show up to work." Michael replied.

"They found her?" said Sam.

"Yes. Sam, she's dead." said Michael.

"Wait they don't think that it was you?" Sam asked.

"Not yet," Michael replied.

"What are you going to do?" Sam asked.

"I'm going to have another meeting with the police. I will know more after I've spoken with them." Michael replied. "But Sam, I need a favour from you."

"Anything you want, brother." Sam replied in earnest.

"Keep an eye on the local chatter in Miami for me. I don't think agencies in America know about me yet but it's only a matter of time." Michael requested.

Michael was sure that while international agencies were as yet unaware of his resurrection, local agencies in New Zealand probably were. He wasn't sure if he wanted to hear from them exactly.

* * *

><p>Three Days Prior<p>

Stephen Te Wera found himself in the office of the Chief Commissioner with one other person whom he hadn't met before.

"Glad you could make it Steve." Said the Commissioner.

"What's this all about?" Stephen asked.

"This is Jonathan Richards." The Commissioner responded, pointing to the stranger, "He's with ASIS."

"Richards." Stephen started at the name.

"Don't worry." Jonathan laughed, "We're not actually related."

"What's Australian intelligence doing on a New Zealand homicide case?" Stephen asked.

"Anne was one of our operatives." Jonathan replied, matter of fact.

"That explains why I couldn't find anything on her." Stephen smiled. Though he hadn't expected the school teacher to be an undercover intelligence agent, he did notice how odd it was that she had no relatives in New Zealand apart from an adopted daughter.

"Who was her daughter?" Stephen asked, mystified.

"She's the catalyst for Anne's mission." Jonathan explained.

"She's missing." Stephen noted.

"Yes we do need to find her." The Commissioner agreed.

"I had a look at your report and I came across a familiar name." Said Jonathan.

"Who are you talking about?" Stephen asked.

"Michael Westen," the agent replied. "You probably haven't heard of him but I have. If he is who I think he is, he may be able to help us find the girl."

"Who do you think he is?" Stephen asked.

"He's like the Harry Potter of American Intelligence." Jonathan smiled at his own analogy. "Everyone's heard of him but no one really believes that he actually exists."

"You think that he can help us?" Said Stephen.

"First we need to confirm that he is who we think he is." The Commissioner replied.


End file.
